ARTICLE
Definition: English has two types of
articles: definite (the) and indefinite (a, an.) The use
of these articles
depends mainly on whether you are referring to any member
of a group, or to a
specific member of a group:
Indefinite articles - a and an (determiners)
A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer
to something not specifically known
to the person you are communicating with.
A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have
not
mentioned before:
My Opinion
Examples:
- In the circuit an umbrella girls is important thing
- There is a man who talk too much
You use a
when the noun you are referring to begins with a consonant
(b, c, d, f, g, h,
j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y or z), for example, "a
city" and "a factory
You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a
vowel (a, e, i, o, u)
Pronunciation changes this rule:
If the next word begins with a consonant sound when we say it, for example,
"university" then we use a. If the next word begins with a vowel
sound when
we say it, for example "hour" then we use an.
Examples:
- We
say "university" with a "y" sound at the beginning
as though it were spelt "youniversity".
So, "a university" is correct.
- We
say "hour" with a silent h as though it were spelt
"our".
So, "an hour" is correct.
Definite
Article - the (determiners)
You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what
particular person/thing you are talking about.
Example:
- The dog
(that specific dog)
- The
apple (that specific apple)
You should
also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking
about.
My Opinion Example:
- there is a lot of the page i've been read
We use the
to talk about geographical points on the globe.
Example:
- the
Middle East, the West
We use the
to talk about rivers, oceans and seas
Example:
We also
use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a
particular thing.
Example:
- the
rain, the sun, the wind
However if
you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.
Example:
- "I
could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing."
1. indefinite article: a and an
1. We use the indefinite article,
a/an, with count nouns when the hearer/reader does not know
exactly which one we are referring to:
Police are searching for a 14
year-old girl.
2. We also use it to show the
person or thing is one of a group:
She is a pupil at London Road
School.
Police
have been searching for a 14 year-old girl who has been missing since
Friday.
Jenny Brown, a pupil at London Road School, is described as 1.6 metres
tall with short blonde hair.
She was last seen wearing a blue jacket, a blue and white blouse
and dark blue jeans and blue shoes.
Anyone who has information should contact the local police on 0800349781.
|
3. We do not use an indefinite article with plural nouns
and uncount nouns:
She was wearing blue shoes. (=
plural noun)
She has short blonde hair. (= uncount noun)
Police have been searching for a
14 year-old girl who has been missing since Friday.
Jenny Brown, a pupil at London Road School, is described as 1.6 metres tall
with short blonde hair.
She was last seen wearing a blue jacket, a blue and white blouse and dark
blue jeans and blue shoes.
Anyone who has information should contact the local police on
0800349781.
|
4. We use a/an to say what someone is or what job they do:
My brother is a doctor.
George is a student.
5. We use a/an with a singular noun
to say something about all things of that kind:
A man needs friends. (= All men need
friends)
A dog likes to eat meat. (= All dogs like to eat meat)
2.definite article: the
The definite article the is
the most frequent word in English.
We use the definite article in front of a noun when we believe the hearer/reader
knows exactly what we are referring to.
• because there is only one:
The Pope is visiting Russia.
The moon is very bright tonight.
The Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979.
This is why we use the definite
article with a superlative adjective:
He is the tallest boy in the
class.
It is the oldest building in the town.
• because there is only one in
that place or in those surroundings:
We live in a small village next to
the church.
|
=
|
(the church in our village)
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Dad, can I borrow the car?
|
=
|
(the car that belongs to our
family)
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When we stayed at my grandmother’s
house we went to the beach every day.
|
=
|
(the beach near my
grandmother’s house)
|
Look at the boy in the blue shirt
over there.
|
=
|
(the boy I am pointing at)
|
• because we have already mentioned it:
A woman who fell 10 metres from High
Peak was lifted to safety by a helicopter. The woman fell while
climbing.
The rescue is the latest in a series of incidents on High Peak. In January last
year two men walking on the peak were killed in a fall.
We also use the definite article:
• to say something about all the things referred to by a noun:
The wolf is not really a dangerous
animal (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals)
The kangaroo is found only in Australia (= Kangaroos are found only in
Australia)
The heart pumps blood around the body. (= Hearts pump blood around bodies)
We use the definite article in this
way to talk about musical instruments:
Joe plays the piano really well.(=
George can play any piano)
She is learning the guitar.(= She is learning to play any guitar)
• to refer to a system or service:
How long does it take on the
train.
I heard it on the radio.
You should tell the police.
• With adjectives like rich,
poor, elderly, unemployed to talk about groups of people:
Life can be very hard for the
poor.
I think the rich should pay more taxes.
She works for a group to help the disabled.
The
definite article with names:
We do not normally use the definite
article with names:
William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.
Paris is the capital of France.
Iran is in Asia.
But we do use the definite article
with:
• countries whose names include words like kingdom, states
or republic:
the United Kingdom; the kingdom of
Nepal; the United States; the People’s Republic of China.
• countries which have plural
nouns as their names:
the Netherlands; the Philippines
• geographical features, such
as mountain ranges, groups of islands, rivers, seas, oceans and canals:
the Himalayas; the Canaries; the
Atlantic; the Atlantic Ocean; the Amazon; the Panama Canal.
• newspapers:
The Times; The Washington Post
• well known buildings or works
of art:
the Empire State Building; the Taj
Mahal; the Mona Lisa; the Sunflowers
• organisations:
the United Nations; the Seamen’s
Union
• hotels, pubs and restaurants*:
the Ritz; the Ritz Hotel; the King’s
Head; the Déjà Vu
*Note: We do not use the definite
article if the name of the hotel or restaurant is the name of the owner,
e.g.,Brown’s; Brown’s Hotel; Morel’s; Morel’s Restaurant, etc.
• families:
